


Holiday Fever

by messedupstargazer



Series: Rae's Whumptober 2019 [12]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But The Author Here Is A Tall Glass Of Sheltered And Stupid, Christian Holidays, Don't copy to another site, Experimental, Fever, Holidays, I Don't Even Know, I Know It's October, I Tried To Keep It Neutral, I Was Raised Culturally Christian And Don't Have Much Experience With Other Holidays, I'm Sorry, M/M, Obi-Wan As Ben, Please Don't Kill Me, Sick Anakin Skywalker, Sort Of, could be read as platonic or romantic, up to you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 11:36:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21178769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/messedupstargazer/pseuds/messedupstargazer
Summary: Whumptober alt.Prompt#3- FeverIt had come on sofast.  It had seemed like just yesterday that Anakin had been so excited for the holidays with Ben and now he could barely open his eyes.  Ben dabbed gently at Anakin’s forehead with a wet cloth, trying to keep his intense fever at bay.





	Holiday Fever

It had come on so _fast_. It had seemed like just yesterday that Anakin had been so excited for the holidays with Ben and now he could barely open his eyes. Ben dabbed gently at Anakin’s forehead with a wet cloth, trying to keep his intense fever at bay.

Anakin moaned lightly, his uncoordinated hands swatting at him.

“Hush, dear one.” Ben whispered, as Anakin had always been oversensitive to noise and light when sick. Had been since Ben first met him. “I know it’s cold to you, but I promise, it’ll make you feel better soon.”

Anakin whimpered. “Hurts.”

“I know, dear one.” Ben said, his heart breaking just a little further. He hated to see such a vibrant young man like Anakin fall to a mere illness. He did make a mental note, however, to check up on Anakin’s vaccinations. His… unusual childhood had probably left several holes in a proper medical history.

“Do you think you can drink some water?” Ben asked.

Anakin grunted, which Ben took to be a yes.

“Can you sit up on your own, or do you want me to help?”

Anakin, immediately tried to sit up on his own, only for his arms to be unable to support him and fall back down onto his bed. Ben pursed his lips, cursing his partner’s stubborn nature and his own nature to assume that Anakin would be okay with needing help when so very obviously in need of it. He should’ve known better, Anakin _hated_ needing help and often went out of his way to avoid even seeming like he could need help. Ben could blame that on his childhood too, but for now, he just needed to try and help the poor lad.

“It’s alright, dear one.” Ben said, adjusting his position so he could lift Anakin onto his chest. He now had to become very careful, to form his words so it all seemed like Anakin’s idea. Anakin would lash out if he thought Ben was insisting he needed help, and in his current state, Ben was worried for what he could do to himself. “How about we just snuggle instead?”

Anakin frowned at him, trying to glare at him through slitted eyes, his fevered mind unable to tell if Ben was coddling him. Ben tried as gently as possible to have Anakin rest on his chest, where he could control the glass of water by the nightstand and still keep a handle on Anakin.

“Too hot.” Anakin groaned, finally speaking, shoving lightly at Ben.

“Try this, it might help.” Ben lifted the glass of water to Anakin’s lips.

Once the water touched his lips, Anakin greedily gulped down the whole glass, uncaring that some of the excess was spilling down his chin.

Ben sat the glass down when it was empty, gently mopping at Anakin’s mouth with his sleeve. “Better, dear one?”

Anakin nodded slowly, as if nodding was the most physically demanding task he’d done.

“Still too hot?” Ben asked.

Anakin grunted another ‘yes’.

“Okay.” Ben said, starting the difficult process of extricating himself from Anakin’s fevered limbs without disturbing him too much.

Now free again, he settled Anakin back into the pillows. Anakin let him, practically a rag doll in his arms.

“Try to get some sleep, dear one.” Ben murmured into Anakin’s hair. He placed a kiss on Anakin’s sweaty forehead, still unnerved at the heat radiating off of the young man.

“‘M sorry.” Came a mumble so quiet Ben almost missed it.

“You’re ill, Anakin.” Ben said lowly. “It’s not your fault.”

“Wanted to do this right.” Anakin mumbled, as if Ben hadn’t spoken. “You deserve a nice holiday instead of taking care of stupid me.”

Ben sighed. Anakin had never celebrated a proper holiday of this sort, his childhood had kept him and his mother from celebrating anything besides a small acknowledgement of their life day. And now that Anakin was with Ben, Anakin had been so excited to properly celebrate this year with the money and freedom to get gifts as he saw fit. The closet was filled with decorative packages ready to be distributed to their friends but Ben had already called everyone off, saying that Anakin could still be contagious and he wouldn’t want to infect any of them. That could wait until after the holiday though, when Anakin could see the look on their friend’s faces when they saw his carefully picked out gifts. But Ben hadn’t thought of what that would do to his mental state. With Anakin, emotional was an understatement, and when he was sick, it was even worse.

“Anakin, it’s alright.” Ben murmured. “Holidays come, holidays go, but _you_ are once in a lifetime. I don’t care if we have to miss a day or two, it’s merely a day on the calendar. Our friends will see us and we’ll laugh and live and love them and they’ll do it right back with us. They don’t care about not meeting up, they care about _you_.”

Anakin’s eyes glistened with tears even in the dim light.

“Oh my dear one,” Ben said softly, cupping Anakin’s face with his hand, “don’t even think such terrible things. You are never going to be less important than a simple day on the calendar. You are my light, and you give love freely as if your life depended on it. There is so much of you to love than I cannot possibly name each and every way I love you, have loved you for years. Your heart is a thing of beauty, a joy forever, and I’m grateful every minute I get to spend with you. Taking care of you is what I signed up for when I started this with you. No matter where or when.”

They had met on the battlefield, Anakin as a pilot, and Ben as a field medic. The draft had taken people from all walks of life, and while Ben could never be thankful for the things he had seen, the lives he couldn’t save, he would always be grateful for Anakin. Without him, Ben would’ve simply gone mad. Even now, without Anakin, Ben would go mad.

“Wanted it to be perfect.” Anakin mumbled, nuzzling into Ben. “You always seemed to excited about it. Just wanted it to be perfect.”

“It _is_ perfect.” Ben whispered, running his thumb up and down Anakin’s cheek. “I’m here, you’re here, there’s nothing more I need. While I could do without you being ill, as long as I have you here, I need nothing else in life.”

Ben wiped away the tears streaming down Anakin’s face with the cloth as if they were simple beads of sweat.

“Can you turn on the lights?” Anakin asked, in a voice too small for Ben to handle.

“Of course, dear one.” Ben reached over and hit the button that illuminated their tiny apartment. The lights danced off the aluminum, changing from red to blue to green to red again, but Ben only had eyes for Anakin. The lights, traditionally saved only for the holiday itself, had him staring in amazement. Simple lights against metal had been something Ben had always taken for granted when he was younger, now he knew with Anakin, nothing could be taken for granted.

“They’re beautiful.” Anakin murmured, on the cusp of sleep.

“Yes. They are.” Ben replied, and seeing Anakin finally drift into a peaceful sleep, decided to leave the lights on all night, in case Anakin woke up.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my attempt at Whumptober, I'll be posting as much as I can, under this series. Not all will be this fandom but each story will be Whumptober. This will be my only Star Wars post so let's just see where it takes us.
> 
> If you liked it, let me know! Come find me at bloodyfeverdreams on tumblr! Leave a comment or come say hi! Whatever you're comfortable with!


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